[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-phoenix-returns-to-rule-the-world":3,"chapter-the-phoenix-returns-to-rule-the-world-the-phoenix-returns-to-rule-the-world-chapter-16":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Phoenix Returns to Rule the World",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2353140,4602,"Chapter 16: So It Was Her","the-phoenix-returns-to-rule-the-world-chapter-16",16,"\u003Cp>Jun Zijin had just stepped through the mansion gates when she heard a clamor and a noisy commotion coming from within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ouch, Father, stop hitting me, ouch...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Stand still! You good-for-nothing wretch...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'll beat you to death, you unfilial son! I'll break your legs and see where you can run to then!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ouch... Father, you're actually hitting me!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Master, stop hitting him, I beg you, stop hitting him, you'll hurt Cheng'er...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Shut up! Say another word and I'll beat you too! It’s all because you spoiled him!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It turned out to be Jun Chengcai, who had not shown his face since returning to the mansion, having snuck back in with two debt collectors from a gambling den. He had been caught red-handed by Jun Zhengming, who was so furious he nearly had a stroke and was now chasing him around, causing complete chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jun Zijin watched the spectacle with interest. One was running while clutching his head, the other was chasing with a stick raised high, and a third was kneeling on the ground begging for mercy, while the maids and matrons stood by at a loss—it was quite a lively scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This 'good-for-nothing' truly lives up to a name that was a waste of his parents' efforts.\" Jun Zijin lost interest after watching for a while and set off toward the Old Madam's courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From afar, she could smell a thick scent of medicine. Sure enough, upon entering the room, Jun Zijin saw the Old Madam’s wrinkled face filled with aversion, refusing to drink her medicine, while Wang Mama patiently tried to persuade her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing her grandmother unable to go a single meal without medicine, she felt a pang of heartache. She stepped forward quickly and asked Wang Mama, who was preparing to serve the medicine:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Have you tested it for poison?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Replying to the Second Young Lady, please rest assured. This old servant followed your instructions and brewed the medicine personally in our small kitchen, and I have tested it for poison,\" Wang Mama replied respectfully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jun Zijin had instructed Wang Mama that the Old Madam’s meals and medicinal soups must be arranged by Wang Mama personally. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Wang Mama did not dare to be the least bit negligent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jun Zijin took the medicine bowl from Wang Mama’s hands, scooped up a spoonful, tasted it lightly, and only then gently fed it into the Old Madam’s mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Be a good girl, Grandmother. Once you finish the medicine, you'll be better.\" Jun Zijin coaxed the Old Madam just as she had coaxed her own daughter in her past life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Daughter...\", Jun Zijin paused internally. She missed her daughter... She wondered if the two of them, father and daughter, were doing well...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Old Madam was amused by Jun Zijin and, failing to notice her granddaughter’s strange behavior, was suddenly all smiles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good, good, Grandmother will drink it. Next year, Grandmother still has to preside over my Second Girl's coming-of-age ceremony!\" Saying this, she opened her mouth and drank the medicine clean.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After feeding the Old Madam her medicine, Jun Zijin chatted with her about some interesting stories, performed a set of rehabilitation exercises for her, and patiently taught the massage techniques to Wang Mama and the Old Madam’s personal maid. Finally, she tucked in the corners of the Old Madam’s quilt before rising to leave with peace of mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Quan Aoyu returned to the palace in silence and ordered Bai Yu to investigate Jun Zijin’s background and origins:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Remember, be thorough,\" he said to Bai Yu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before long, Bai Yu returned to report. He said to Quan Aoyu mysteriously:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Master, guess who that girl is.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don't waste time.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Master, according to my investigation, that girl is the Second Young Lady of the Minister of Rites' Jun mansion. Her biological mother passed away when she was young. At age eight, because she beat her stepmother and harmed her elder sister, she was sent away to a remote estate. She had to gather firewood in the back mountains and draw water from the well just to earn food, often going hungry. She only returned to the mansion the day before yesterday.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Quan Aoyu’s previously calm expression gradually darkened, his eyes narrowing slightly to reveal a cold glint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Heh, Minister Jun is truly something else—actually capable of bullying an orphaned girl!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Minister Jun, who was busy disciplining his son, had no idea he had already been marked down in the Crown Prince’s heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Yu was a bit confused; shouldn't his master's focus be on the \"beating her mother and harming her elder sister\" part?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Continue,\" Quan Aoyu said, suppressing the anger in his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Yu said with a hint of disdain:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Master, you may not know this, but rumors say the Jun family's Second Young Lady is inept at everything—the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She is a complete good-for-nothing...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Quan Aoyu shot a cold look at Bai Yu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Yu shrank his neck. \"I'll go receive 10 strokes of the military cane myself.\" Having said that, he retreated rapidly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A good-for-nothing?\" Quan Aoyu whispered to himself: As expected, rumors are just rumors and cannot be taken as truth. He just felt that someone capable of drawing such exquisite blueprints couldn't be that bad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"An estate... the back mountains...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Quan Aoyu’s thoughts drifted back five years, to when he was being hunted and hid in the mountains while injured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had met a little girl who was sitting on the ground crying because she had hurt her finger while gathering firewood. It was this little girl who dug up medicinal herbs to treat his wounds and gave him the only half-steamed bun she had...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was indeed an estate not far from those mountains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The image of a little girl appeared in Quan Aoyu’s mind. Back then, her face was smeared with tears and dirt like a little cat, which was why he hadn't recognized her when he saw her today. Now that he thought about it, her features were indeed quite similar. So, it was her.\u003C\u002Fp>",1019,"2026-06-21T03:35:39.629Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","aa1f4c74639acfcce879964d6b0774bcf6345adb7fda049037f8c0e40b923799","the-phoenix-returns-to-rule-the-world-chapter-17","the-phoenix-returns-to-rule-the-world-chapter-15",224,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-phoenix-returns-to-rule-the-world-cover.jpg"]